Tampons are well known as absorbent articles, and specifically as feminine hygiene articles effective in the absorption of menses inside the vagina. Tampons are generally cylindrical, compressed batts of absorbent fibers that expand upon being wetted in use. For example, once inserted inside the vagina, tampons tend to expand as fluid is absorbed, thereby increasing in volume to fill more of the space within the vagina. As the tampon expands, more surface area is exposed that can contact the walls of the vagina, thereby intercepting more fluid and preventing fluid escape and leakage.
Tampons typically have a cylindrical “bullet” like appearance that is often perceived by consumers as lacking an aesthetically pleasing appearance. Further, cylindrical tampons have a perimeter that is substantially the same along the length of the tampon. Tampons having a substantially constant perimeter along their length do not reflect the contours of the vaginal cavity, which varies in its width as measured from the vaginal opening to the cervix. These differences in shape between the vaginal cavity and that of cylindrical tampons reduces the effectiveness of the cylindrical tampons, in that the wider areas of the vaginal cavity will not be contacted by the cylindrical tampon, which is needed for absorption, and consequently menses will by pass the cylindrical tampon to eventually pass through the vaginal opening.
An answer to the limitations of cylindrically-shaped tampons has been the development of shaped tampons. In comparison to cylindrical tampons, shaped tampons generally have differing perimeters along their length, such that some shaped tampons have an “hourglass” or “bottle shaped” appearance. Consumers have a pleasing opinion of the shape, as it possesses a more natural and comfortable appearance than the rigid and symmetrical form of cylindrical tampons. In comparison to cylindrical shaped tampons, shaped tampons also have the capability to provide a consumer with increased performance, as the parts of the shaped tampon most likely to encounter menses, the end closest the cervix and the end closest the vaginal opening can have greater perimeters than the central portion of the shaped tampon. This allows a shaped tampon to provide increased protection upon insertion, without the need for fluid uptake to drive expansion.
The production of shaped tampons has been problematic, as a shaped tampon cannot be laterally ejected from the unitary molds used to produce cylindrical tampons, due to a shaped tampon having varying perimeters along its length. When the sections of a shaped tampon having larger perimeters encounter the portions of the unitary mold used to form the narrower perimeters of the shaped tampon, the larger sections will provide resistance to the lateral movement used for evacuating the shaped tampon. This resistance caused by the larger sections of the shaped tampon results in damage to the tampon and the mold.
In an attempt to solve the evacuation problem, processes used for the production of cylindrical tampons have been modified. The modifications have usually taken the form of adding an additional step following compression of the pledget. This additional step has involved transferring the compressed pledget into a two-part “clam-shell” mold. A clam-shell mold is composed of two complementary halves that are brought together to form a complete mold for the formation of shaped tampons. The clam-shell mold has been favored, as a compressed pledget can be laterally transferred to the mold and shaped. However, to remove the shaped tampon the clam-shell mold must be opened and the shaped tampon manually removed. This extra production step decreases the efficiency of the method and increases the cost, making the production of shaped tampons, currently, cost-prohibitive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mold that can replace clam-shell molds, and which can work with current cylindrical tampon production methods.
Further, there is a need for a method of producing a shaped tampon that does not include a step that burdens the process by imposing labor intensive conditions that reduce production efficiency and increase cost.